Attachment Narrative

This document pretains to SES-STA-20100428-00489 for Special Temporal Authority on a Satellite Earth Station filing.

IBFS_SESSTA2010042800489_813163

                                   Before the
                     FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
                              Washington, D.C. 20554


                                                )   File No. SES-STA-20100203-00155
                                                )   File No. SES-STA-________-_____
In the Matter of                                )   Call Sign E980081
                                                )
ECHOSTAR CORPORATION                            )   File No. SES-STA-20100203-00154
                                                )   File No. SES-STA-________-_____
Application for Renewal of Special              )   Call Sign E980082
Temporary Authority to Operate Three            )
Transmit/Receive Earth Stations with            )   File No. SES-STA-20100203-00153
EchoStar 6 at 61.65º W.L.                       )   File No. SES-STA-________-_____
                                                )   Call Sign E070273
                                                )


      APPLICATION FOR RENEWAL OF SPECIAL TEMPORARY AUTHORITY

       By this Application, EchoStar Corporation (“EchoStar”) requests renewal of its special

temporary authority (“STA”) for 60 days to operate three transmit/receive earth stations (Call

Signs E980081, E980082 and E070273) to provide telemetry, tracking and control (“TT&C”)

and feeder link communications in the Broadcasting-Satellite Service (“BSS” or “DBS”) band

for the EchoStar 6 satellite at 61.65 W.L., where it is temporarily supplementing the operations

of EchoStar 3 and EchoStar 12. Pursuant to the Commission’s authorization,1 EchoStar moved

the satellite from 72.7 W.L. to 61.65 W.L. on February 28, 2010, as a result of the recent loss

of additional transponder capacity on EchoStar 3. The current STA is set to expire on May 3,

2010 and therefore, EchoStar is requesting this renewal.2


       1
          See Stamp Grant, File No. SAT-STA-20100203-00020 (granted Mar. 3, 2010)
(“Satellite STA Application”).
       2
        See Stamp Grant, File Nos. SES-STA-20100203-00155 (granted Mar. 5, 2010); SES-
STA-20100203-00154 (granted Mar. 5, 2010); SES-STA-20100203-00153 (granted Mar. 5,
2010) (“Earth Station STAs”).


       Prior to EchoStar 6’s move to the nominal 61.5º W.L. orbital location, EchoStar was

operating two Direct Broadcast Satellite (“DBS”) service satellites at the nominal 61.5º W.L.

orbital location – EchoStar 3 and EchoStar 12 (formerly Rainbow 1). As the Commission is

aware, EchoStar 3 experienced several transponder failures due to Traveling Wave Tube

Amplifier (“TWTA”) anomalies, and was operating at reduced capacity.3 On January 7, 2010,

EchoStar 3 experienced another TWTA anomaly further diminishing its operating capacity. As a

result of this failure, EchoStar was not able to maintain its level of service provided from 61.5

W.L. without at least the relocation of one additional satellite to the orbital location. EchoStar,

therefore, requested and received special temporary authority to relocate EchoStar 6 to 61.65º

W.L. as an in-orbit spare, where the satellite will supplement, as needed, the service provided by

EchoStar 3 and EchoStar 12 to maintain regular programming.4 EchoStar also requested and

received authority to operate temporarily the above referenced transmit/receive earth stations to

provide TT&C and feeder link service for the satellite once it arrived at 61.65 W.L. EchoStar

hereby applies to extend this STA for an additional 60 days.

       The concurrent operation of these satellites ensures that EchoStar’s customer, DISH

Network Corporation, will be able to continue providing DBS service to consumers without any

service interruptions until EchoStar’s EchoStar 15 satellite begins operating at 61.5º W.L.5

EchoStar 15, a 32-transponder-capable DBS satellite, is expected to effectively replace EchoStar
       3
          See EchoStar 3 Status Report, File No. SAT-STA-20090821-00092 (filed Dec. 30,
2009) (“EchoStar 3 Status Report”); EchoStar Satellite Operating Corporation, Application for
Extension and Modification of Special Temporary Authority to Operate Direct Broadcast
Satellite Service over Channels 23 and 24 at the 61.5º W.L. Orbital Location, Order and
Authorization, 22 FCC Rcd. 2223, at ¶¶ 4-6 (2007).
       4
           See Stamp Grant, File No. SAT-STA-20100203-00020 (granted Mar. 3, 2010).
       5
        See File No. SAT-LOA-20100310-00043 (filed Mar. 10, 2010) (“EchoStar 15
Application”).



                                                -2-


3 and will be ready for launch by the third quarter of 2010.6 Upon launch and successful testing

of EchoStar 15, EchoStar currently expects to return EchoStar 6 to its current home – 72.7 W.L.

EchoStar has been advised by its partner, Telesat Canada, which has the license for that

Canadian orbital location, that the move from, and return to, 72.7 W.L. is not likely to cause

regulatory concern on the part of Industry Canada. In any event, any redeployment of EchoStar

6 will take place after securing all necessary authority, and EchoStar will advise the Commission

of any change in its plans.

I.     THIS APPLICATION IS IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST AND WILL NOT CAUSE
       HARMFUL INTERFERENCE

       This application is in the public interest for the reasons set forth in the Satellite STA

Application, which are incorporated herein by reference. Furthermore, grant of this application

will ensure the safe operation of EchoStar 6 at the 61.65 W.L. orbital location. Grant of this

application also will not cause harmful interference because EchoStar will operate the earth

stations to conduct TT&C and feederlink capability for the temporary operation of the EchoStar

6 satellite at 61.65° W.L. in accordance with the grant conditions.7


II.    WAIVER PURSUANT TO SECTION 304 OF THE ACT

       In accordance with Section 304 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended,

47 U.S.C. § 304, EchoStar hereby waives any claim to the use of any particular frequency or of

the electromagnetic spectrum as against the regulatory power of the United States because of the

previous use of the same, whether by license or otherwise.




       6
           See EchoStar 15 Application.
       7
           See Earth Station STAs.



                                                -3-


III.   CONCLUSION

       For the foregoing reasons, EchoStar respectfully requests renewal of its special temporary

authority for 60 days to operate three transmit/receive earth stations (Call Signs E980081,

E980082 and E070273) to provide TT&C and feederlink capability for the EchoStar 6 satellite

during its temporary operations at 61.65° W.L.

                                             Respectfully submitted,



                                                       /s/

Pantelis Michalopoulos                        Linda Kinney
Petra A. Vorwig                               Vice President, Law and Regulation
Laura Lisa Sandoval                           EchoStar Corporation
Steptoe & Johnson LLP                         1233 20th Street, N.W.
1330 Connecticut Avenue, N.W.                 Suite 302
Washington, D.C. 20036                        Washington, D.C. 20036-2396
(202) 429-3000                                (202) 293-0981
Counsel for EchoStar Corporation


April 28, 2010




                                               -4-



Document Created: 2010-04-28 19:06:14
Document Modified: 2010-04-28 19:06:14

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